This study investigated the relationship between peripheral blood B lymphocytes, regulatory T-cells and T lymphocyte subsets, the distribution of B lymphocytes in the kidney, and the pathogenesis of idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN). Lymphocyte subsets were measured using flow cytometry in 66 patients with clinically-confirmed IMN and in 40 healthy control subjects. Compared with healthy subjects, the number of peripheral blood B lymphocytes was significantly increased in IMN patients and that of regulatory T-cells was significantly decreased, accompanied by an increased CD4 + /CD8 + T-cell ratio. There was no relationship between the number of peripheral blood B lymphocytes and markers of kidney function. Although the number of infiltrating B lymphocytes in the kidney of IMN patients was higher, there was no relationship with the number of peripheral blood B lymphocytes. In conclusion, there was no relationship between peripheral blood B lymphocytes and disease activity, suggesting that peripheral blood B lymphocytes are not a biomarker of disease activity and therapeutic efficacy in IMN.

Background: This study aimed to evaluate clinical features and prognosis and therapy option of patients with different risk ranks based on antibody against the M-type phospholipase-A2-receptor (PLA2Rab) level in seropositive M-type phospholipase-A2-receptor (PLA2R)-associated membranous nephropathy (MN) in a large sample size, multi-center study.Method: Based on the unvalidated cut-off value of PLA2Rab above 150 RU/ml as one of the clinical criteria for high risk of progressive kidney function loss in MN according to 2020 Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) draft guidelines recommendation, a total of 447 patients who received cyclophosphamide (CTX) or tacrolimus (TAC) combined with corticosteroids treatment for 12 months were divided into high titer (>150 RU/ml) group and non-high titer (20–150 RU/ml) group, which were subdivided into CTX subgroup and TAC subgroup. The overall cohort was classified into CTX group and TAC group as well. Clinical parameters levels and remission rates were recorded at 3, 6, and 12 months follow-up. PLA2Rab was tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.Results: Patients with high titer PLA2Rab were associated with more severe proteinuria and hypoalbuminemia compared to those with non-high titer antibody, accompanied by lower complete remission (CR) and total remission (TR) rates at 3, 6, and 12 months, which even took longer to remission. Similar remission rates differences between the two titer groups were observed in the CTX and TAC groups, respectively. PLA2Rab level at baseline was an independent predictive factor for CR and TR. In the high titer group, CR and TR rates in the CTX subgroup were significantly higher than those in the TAC subgroup at 12 months, although serious adverse events were more frequent in the former.Conclusion: High-risk rank patients with PLA2Rab level above 150 RU/ml have higher disease activity and worse prognosis among patients with seropositive PLA2R-associated MN, even under different immunosuppressive therapeutic models; moreover, CTX combined with corticosteroids was preferred compared to TAC plus corticosteroids, although serious adverse events were more frequent in the former. Additionally, baseline PLA2Rab level was an independent predictive factor for clinical remission.

Background: Pentraxin 3 is an acute inflammatory protein of the long pentraxin subfamily. A meta-analysis was performed to assess diagnostic accuracy of pentraxin 3 for respiratory tract infections. Methods: We identify studies examining diagnostic value of pentraxin 3 for respiratory tract infections by searching Pubmed, Web of Knowledge, and Cochrane Library. The sensitivity, specificity, negative likelihood ratio (LR), positive LR, and diagnostic odds ratio were pooled. The area under the summary receiver operator characteristic (SROC) curve and Q point value (Q∗) were calculated. Results: A total of 8 studies with 961 individuals were eligible for this meta-analysis. The pooled sensitivity of pentraxin 3 in diagnosis of respiratory tract infections was 0.78, the pooled specificity was 0.73, the area under the SROC curve was 0.84, and the Q∗ was 0.77. The area under the SROC curve of serum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) pentraxin 3 was 0.85 and 0.89, respectively. Meta-regression analysis revealed that cutoff value was the source of heterogeneity among the included studies. The Deek funnel plot test suggested no evidence of publication bias. Subgroup analyses showed that the area under the SROC curve of pentraxin 3 in diagnosis of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) was 0.89. Conclusion: Pentraxin 3 has a moderate accuracy for diagnosing respiratory tract infections and VAP. The overall diagnostic value of BALF level of pentraxin 3 is superior to its serum concentration.

Objective: To assess the correlation between Serum phospholipase A2 receptor antibody and clinicopathological features in patients with membranous nephropathy. Method: The patients being hospitalized for renal biopsy were selected in this study from January 2016 to January 2018. And normal controls were randomly selected; all the patients were divided into idiopathic membranous nephropathy and non-idiopathic membranous nephropathy groups; patients with idiopathic membranous nephropathy were divided into three groups, namely stage I, stage II and stage III; using software for statistical analysis. Results: A total of 357 patients were enrolled, including 155 patients with idiopathic membranous nephropathy, 183 patients with non-idiopathic membranous nephropathy, and 19 cases for normal controls. The average age of the idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN) group is higher than that of the membranous nephropathy group (P = 0.01). Different pathological stages of idiopathic membranous nephropathy general clinical characteristics analysis results showed that the age, cys c, serum creatinine (Scr) in stage III membranous nephropathy group were higher than those of the stage I and II membranous nephropathy (P values were 0.003, 0.000 and 0.000 respectively); titers of serum phospholipase A2 receptors antibody with stage II and III membranous nephropathy higher than the stage I membranous nephropathy group (P = 0.006); serum albumin (Alb) levels correlated inversely with serum anti-PLA2R antibody titers (rs = –0.234, P = 0.003), serum antiphospholipase A2 receptor (PLA2R) antibody titer level in patients with idiopathic membranous nephropathy was significantly higher than that in patients with non-membranous nephropathy (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Baseline titer of serum anti-PLA2R antibody is negatively correlated with Alb in the IMN patients，and serum anti-PLA2R antibody level in patients with stage I IMN was significantly lower than stage II and III IMN patients.